


Stay Close To Me

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Anxiety, Christmas, Christmas Shopping, Crossover, Derek is a Christmas Baby, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Married Couple, Viktor is a Christmas baby, Viktor's name is spelled with a k, and Yuri's is spelled with one u because that's how it is in the title & CD cover, canon divergent post episode 11 of YOI, canon divergent- Yuri wins gold, so basically I didn't know what AO3 was doing with their names before I wrote this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 08:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9064801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: "You want me, a total stranger who's name you don't even know, to go shopping with your husband for an hour in some vain hope that it'll help him get through his anxiety over your birthday?""Yes!" the stranger cheered excitedly"It will help you too ofcourse, I think your husband would appreciate it, you'll be returned to him much less stressed out than you are now,""Returned to him"? What was Stiles now, a kitten? Or: A year after The Grand Prix Finals Yuri is stressing again over something to buy for Viktor's birthday when the two happen across another married couple in a very similar situationOr: A shameless excuse to exploit Derek and Viktor both being Christmas babies and Stiles and Yuri both being anxiety-filled peaches who can't handle holiday stress





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ok ok ok so lots to add here, my first time writing Yuri On Ice and I'm hoping it's decent... this is the second fic I'm posting (admittedly late) for madnessofvoid's Christmas gift, it was such a beast to get through though... the thing is, when I found out Vikki was a Christmas baby, I knew I'd eventually have to do a fic with he and Derek sharing woes (wich apparently is not this fic) because let me tell you that the first Sterek fic I ever wrote, I wrote because I thought the concept of Derek being a Christmas baby was so freaking cute that I couldn't help myself (thank God that tragedy is burried in the depths of DeviantART now) so when I found out about Viktor... you see where this is going
> 
> A few more points:
> 
> 1\. I spell Yuri's name with one u because that's how it's written in both the title and the composition that Yuri gives to Viktor; I could see the argument that "Yuri On Ice" actually refers to Yurio but we know that Yuri wouldn't have named HIS composition after someone he hadn't even met when it was first composed, he spells his name "Yuri", so that's how I spell it too, so the AO3 tags for this thing vexed me for atleast five minutes trying to get the freaking spelling combinations right
> 
> 2\. Speaking of, I actually don't know how Viktor's name is spelled in canon, they probably have shown it several times, atleast on the scoreboard, but when I first started in the fandom Vikki's name was always spelled with a K- from the posts I saw- so I adopted the habbit, plus I think he's named after the Olympic gold medal winning ice hockey player named Viktor Nikiforov and thus I'm keeping the K
> 
> I'll write the rest in the additional comments below, please enjoy the story! <3

This was a bad idea

He had known it was a bad idea over three hours ago, but the more the night dragged on, the more he felt like he could confirm that beyond a shadow of a doubt: This was a bad idea

They should have just stayed at the hotel...

Heaving a loud sigh, Yuri sat down on the bench outside of the restrooms and hung his head, running his fingers through his hair

How could he let this happen?

"Excuse me?"

The skater glanced up, almost jumping at the sight of a large intimidating man in front of him

Well, the scowl, leather jacket, and general muscular form of the man were intimidating...

The double stroller he had beside him... not so much

"U-Um... yes?"

"Are you alright? You look a little distressed,"

He adjusted his glasses, giving a quick, unsteady nod

"Y-Yes I'm fine, really, just.. just a little lost,"

In more ways than one, if he was being honest...

"I could help if you want, I'm pretty familiar with the area," the man offered, taking a step closer and glancing down at the bench, gesturing to the spot next to Yuri

"May I?"

"O-Oh um... sure... but you don't have to, I mean, I'm sure you have alot to do,"

He would imagine that a guy wasn't out with twin infants at a shopping mall a few days before Christmas just for the fun of it after all

Even Yuri wasn't here for the fun of it

"It's alright, I'm waiting on my husband so it isn't as if I have somewhere else to be, where are you looking to go?" he asked, sitting down next to Yuri and carefully pulling the stroller up close to him

"Um, I was wondering if there's a jewlry store in here, I haven't seen one so far,"

"I think there's one downstairs near Macy's," the stranger answered, pausing for a moment seeming to tilt his head, looking a little bit closer at the skater

"I thought I recognized you... you're Yuri Katsuki aren't you?" he asked with a slight smile

"You know me...? Or.. know OF me?" he asked in surprise

It was one thing to be recognized in Hasetsu but he didn't think he had made that much of an impact outside of his hometown...

"Ofcourse, I've followed your milestones for years, congrats on the gold by the way,"

"O-Oh thank you! I really appreciate that,"

To be honest he didn't think many Americans followed him, but then again he also didn't think many people in general followed him despite being the champion figure skater of Japan...

"Ofcourse, if it isn't too personal... what are you doing in Beacon Hills? It's an awfully small town, there aren't really any tourist attractions or anything,"

"Oh ah... well... actually, there's a competition in Los Angeles in a few days, we were taking a train to Apple Bay to see a Christmas show and we got lost and ended up here instead, Viktor wanted to make the most of it and go shopping,"

"Oh, Viktor Nikiforov is with you? I'm not sure why I'm surprised by that though, you two seem to be inseparable,"

"Well... we are married," Yuri said quietly, cautiously, the marriage was almost nine months old but he was still finding it to be new enough that saying it out loud felt odd on his tongue

"You are? Congratulations, I take it you two are happy together?"

"Very,"

That wasn't a lie, he had never been happier than he was this last year and a half

Having Viktor in his life felt like... like nothing he could explain, it was otherworldly, he felt like some sort of anime charector who had been living a dull, grey life and then...

Then when Viktor walked in he took Yuri somewhere ELSE and all of a sudden there was an explosion of colors and warmth and things were how they were supposed to be...

Was that how all love felt, he wondered?

Or was it just special to Viktor? He wouldn't be surprised if it was

Wich is probably why this was more upsetting than ever, now that he thought about it

Viktor had done so much for him, changed his life in so many ways... and yet Yuri couldn't even do this much for him

It was sad and sickening and it left his skin crawling with frustration and self-loathing...

He just wanted to give Viktor something spectacular for his birthday but he couldn't even do that much...

"I- ... actually... I'm wondering... if it's really no trouble, could... could you maybe help me with something?"

Maybe wile Viktor was away he could take the opportunity to ask for a little help from a freindly stranger...

Completely unbeknownst to Yuri though, his husband was having a similar conversation just a few feet away in the bathroom....

\---

"C'mon Stiles, you can do this, just.. just gotta... crap, why is this so hard?"

Stiles loved Christmas, generally, not as much as Halloween, but he still loved it

And yet at the same time it was one of the worst times in the year because his anxiety had an excuse to run absolutely rampant

As if having anxiety over normal people's gifts wasn't enough, Stiles HAD to have married the hardest person EVER to shop for because Derek just... didn't... WANT things...

He never seemed to have any greed or desire for any material possession and that drove Stiles CRAZY

Especially since he felt like he probably had wasted the good gift ideas early on in their relationship

And as if that wasn't all bad ENOUGH?

Derek was a freaking Christmas baby, in other words, Stiles didn't need to just try hard- he needed to try super duper EXTRA freaking hard

That's what he needed to do and yet here he was stumped like nothing else and Christmas was only a few days away...

Stiles felt sick

He had dragged Derek and the twins all the way out here feigning the need to get something for his dad, wich they both knew Stiles had done weeks ago, but Derek, bless him, had allowed Stiles to keep up the facade

And now here they were, after having wandered around uselessly for over an hour, and Stiles wasn't any closer to figuring out what he was going to do than he was an hour ago

"I hate myself," Stiles grumbled with frustration, pinching his eyes and shaking his head

"Oh, I hope that's not actually true," He heard, jerking his head up as his ears wee assaulted by the thick Russian accent

"It's... well, it is what it is," Stiles mumbled back as he glanced over his shoulder at the man who had just stepped around the corner, he hadn't even realized he wasn't alone in here, the mall bathrooms were kind of huge...

"That breaks my heart, let me take a guess, you're upset over not being able to find someone a gift? That's a silly thing to get upset about," he commented, stepping up to the sink Stiles was standing next to and turning the faucet on

"So you never get nervous or stumped about gifts huh? Well aren't you a lucky guy?" the spark snorted in frustration

He didn't even know people existed who didn't get upset over this sort of thing, wich, unfortunately, said alot of bad things about the state of the world, but what could you do?

"I don't at all," the silver-haired- and seriously, what guy younger than eighty had silver hair...?- guy said with a much too bright smile

"I think, things are how they are, you get someone something from your heart, if that isn't good enough then that's their problem, and if they have that problem then they're a-holes and not worth your time," he explained casually

"Wow, that's impressive, your wife like that line of thinking? Or.. husband?" he asked, having noticed the man's gold wedding ring the second he stepped out

It was sure shiny enough, it could probably beacon a helicopter from here with that much sheen...

"Oh yes actually!!" he perked, turning the faucet off and grabbing a few papper towels

"My husband is just like you you know! He's always so horrendously anxious about these things, he thinks I'm impressive for thinking like I do, I just wish he would learn from me,"

"Gee, I wish we could all learn from you,"

Although that would probably explain why the stranger had bothered commenting on Stiles' self-deprecating comment earlier, if his husband was anxious like Stiles then he probably had been dealing with hearing things like that for years and was naturally sensitive to it, especially if he himself didn't understand being anxious about Christmas

"You will get the hang of it one day, you're still young, you're probably closer to my husband's age than mine, he's twenty-four,"

"Hn, yeah, twenty-three," Stiles offered

"I'm twenty-eight, when you get to my age the world changes in perspective,"

"Dude you're only five years older than I am, I find it hard to believe it'll be that drastic, besides, my husband is only a year older than you, you're gonna make me feel weird talking like you're some old man,"

"But does your husband share your anxieties?"

Well...

Ok, that was a point, but it wasn't for the reason this guy thought

"No but Derek has never placed value in material things, that isn't new or coming from age and wisdom, it's just how he is,"

"Are you so sure about that? Did you know him much younger?"

"Yeah, we've known eachother for around six years now,"

"WOW!!!" the stranger gasped, clapping his hands together as he stepped a little closer

"That really is a long time!! I suppose you might know what you're saying then, Yuri and I have only known eachother for a bit under two years- well, depending on how you define 'know eachother' but-"

"Yeah well, when you know your hubby as long as I've known mine you pick up on things,"

The stranger laughed positively, beaming brightly at him

"Good comeback! Tell me something, is this husband the one you're having trouble finding a gift for?"

"Yeah, he's harder than hell to shop for, like I said, he doesn't place much significance on material things, and to make matters worse he's a freaking Christmas baby so I-"

"OH!! Your husband is a Christmas baby too!? So am I!! Well, in most of the world I am that is, in Russia Christmas isn't until January but I was born on December 25th so most people regard me as being born on Christmas,"

What.

"You and Yuri are so alike, he's been stressing so much about what to give me for a birthday gift, no matter how hard I try to convince him not to worry about it, it doesn't do any good,"

"Yeah, no, it isn't just a switch we can flip you know?"

Stiles was deciding to ignore the almost disturbing coincidence that he had randomly run into another Christmas baby- who seemed to be married to someone similar to Stiles- during this freaking foresaken shopping trip just a few days before Christmas...

And he was _foreign_ too, the odds of this happening were kind of ridiculously low...

"I KNOW!!" the Russian guy gasped suddenly, smiling somehow even more brightly than he had been before

"You two should shop together!!"

WHAT.

"It'd be PERFECT! I can keep your husband busy for an hour, it will get the two of us out of your and Yuri's hair and give you the chance to shop without feeling like we're spying on you, but you won't be alone so you won't be so nervous, you both have the same problem so you can help manage eachother's anxieties without being accused of not knowing what you're talking about, it's balance!"

"You want me, a total stranger who's name you don't even know, to go shopping with your husband for an hour in some vain hope that it'll help him get through his anxiety over your birthday?"

"Yes!" the stranger cheered excitedly

"It will help you too ofcourse, I think your husband would appreciate it, you'll be returned to him much less stressed out than you are now,"

"Returned to him"? What was Stiles now, a kitten?

"You obviously don't know Derek," he snorted, because this situation sounded like a waking nightmare for his werewolf husband

"I don't, no, but I know Yuri, and I know that you two are very similar, and if your husband loves you anywhere CLOSELY to how much I love mine, I know that seeing you so upset over something so trivial is very distressing, I know that he probably feels utterly helpless in his inability to soothe you and, though you don't mean to, you're likely putting anxiety on him in return, I know that you cannot control that, I HAVE known Yuri long enough to know that by now, but in the end, the result is the same, you are doing something that isn't working, and continuing to do it isn't going to make it work any better, you need something different if you want to resolve your distress and I'm offering you a solution,"

As much as Stiles didn't want to admit it... he kind of had a point

And hearing the previously gushing, enthusiastic man suddenly get so serious was sobering in the worst of ways...

He was right, Stiles knew he was, he was putting so much on Derek with this and no matter how hard he tried to avoid that... Derek worried about him just as much as Stiles worried about the wolf...

"I do not like the idea of being away from my husband for even a moment, especially in a foreign place we're both unfamiliar with, entrusted to a stranger and otherwise on his own, I would not ever find that enjoyable, but I'd be doing it for Yuri, because I know it's what he needs, I know it would be good for him, that is the only reason,"

Stiles breathed a heavy sigh, sucking on his lip and leaning back on his heels in consideration

As much as he HATED to admit it.... the guy really did have a point....

"An hour," he said slowly

"As long as Derek's ok with it,"

He took a step closer, raising up on the tips of his toes to be taller than the older man

"But if I come back in an hour and Derek isn't in exactly the same shape I left him in, I'm going to turn you into a rug," he threatened seriously

The stranger let out a laugh, smirking just as sinisterly as Stiles was hoping he looked

"And if there's one single hair displayed from Yuri's pretty head I will turn your's into a fruit bowl," he promised with a near giddy look on his face

"Then we understand eachother," Stiles agreed, backing off and starting on his way out of the bathroom, tensing when he felt the other man pat his shoulder

"This is fun! I like you already,"

Well, Stiles supposed, atleast that could be said for one of them...

~+~

"You do realize how convoluted that idea sounds right?" Derek said with a frown, one arm resting on the stroller and the other slung over his eyes in a mark of clear frustration

"Yeah, but Derek, as much as I HATE to admit it.... he's kind of got a good idea going here, I can't keep putting pressure on you- especially now that we have to drag the kids around with us- but my anxiety isn't going to just go away,"

"I know but..." Derek paused, sighing quietly as he glanced over at the babies, who Viktor had been cooing at for the last five minutes, completely unhelpfull in explaining this ridiculous idea to Derek and Yuri

"I already threatened him," Stiles offered, wich caused the wolf to lower his arm and stare at him skeptically

"You threatened Viktor Nikiforov?"

"Well yeah! If anything happens to you- wait how do you know his name?"

"He's an internationally famous figure skater, five time gold medalist, his husband is Yuri Katsuki, the newest gold medalist, also internationally famous,"

"O-Oh I.. I wouldn't go that far," Yuri piped up from across the way

"You know figure skaters by name, oh my God, you precious dork," Stiles huffed, shaking his head and glancing down at Viktor again

He seemed harmless enough.... and one look at Yuri was enough to tell him that the skater's anxiety was probably as bad as Stiles' was, if the fidgeting was any kind of indicator

"Do you really think this convoluted plan is going to work?" Derek frowned

"I think anything is better than just not trying, besides, you'll get to hang out for an hour with a celebrity that you actually know, that's gotta rack up some cool points even for you, and look at him! He loves the kids too,"

Derek couldn't deny that it would be interesting to talk to a professional figure skater for a wile...

Especially one who he could gush to about the babies (because Derek never wasted an excuse to do that)

"An hour," he finally relented, glancing down at his watch before returning his gaze to Stiles

"One. Hour."

Stiles saluted, leaning down to give his husband a happy kiss and moving to kiss both of the twins on the head before grabbing Yuri's arm and tugging

"You heard 'im, we've got an hour, let's get this over with as quickly and painlessly as we can,"

The dark-haired skater yelped, nearly dropping the phone he had been looking at and hurrying to shove it in his pocket and make it over to Viktor, giving him a tight, tight hug- the kind that made Stiles wonder if he thought he was being taken to his death or something- and wispering something to him in another language- though it sounded more like Russian than Japanese- before Viktor leaned up and gave him a searing kiss, wishing him the weirdest sounding goodbye Stiles had ever heard

_"Udachi my sweet katsudon,"_

Yuri finally parted from his husband, returning faithfully to Stiles' side and starting to walk with him down towards the other end of the mall

Stiles was a little too preoccupied to really start looking at anything though, there was only one thing he could think about at the moment

"Isn't a katsudon food?"

Derek, in the mean time, sighed heavily as he stood up and gave his shoulders a light roll, looking down to make sure the babies were still sleeping- thankfully they were...

"So, what are we doing for an hour?"

Viktor grinned brightly, hooking his arm in Derek's and starting to tug him in the opposite direction of their husbands

"You and I are going to have some fun, that's what!!"

Derek wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that enthusiasm....

~+~

"We should start with your's, do you have any idea what Viktor might want?"

"Huh? Why are we starting with mine?" Yuri asked in confusion, glancing up at Stiles with a bit of concern

"Because you two don't live around here? If I don't find something tonight I can come back in the morning, but you have to take a train back to LA and will probably have other things you need to do wile you're in town before Christmas and blah blah... it'll be more convenient for you to do this tonight,"

That... actually made alot of sense...

"O-Oh... thank you," Yuri said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced around at the stores they were passing

None of them looked interesting, mostly clothing places and a few boutiques...

"Don't mention it, it's fine,"

Stiles couldn't say he didn't have ulterior motives though, if he was being honest, he was just entirely glad that he wasn't having to go first

He still needed time to think and he hoped that Yuri's shopping would inspire something for him too

"I.. no, I don't have any ideas," Yuri said after a moment, pulling Stiles' attention away from his thoughts and back to his .. company...

"Well, what did you get for him last year? Viktor said you'd been together for just under two years, you spent last Christmas together too right?"

"Last year I got him an engagement ring, it's a little hard to outdo that..."

"You proposed to him on his birthday after knowing him for less than a year, and on your first Christmas together? Wow, you athletes really go all in don't you? Those are some freaking PLATINUM balls you've got there,"

He knew it was meant as a compliment, but Yuri couldn't help feeling increasingly embarrassed by this conversation and his cherry red face was proof of that

"I don't... I mean... no? I... I got the rings and ... well... it was Viktor who said we should get married- or.. well... announced it... but I do-"

"Hey, _breathe_ , you're in good company here, if there's anyone you don't need to be nervous around it's me, we're in the same boat remember?"

In alot more ways than Stiles thought should be logistically possible...

"I... I know but..."

Yuri just paused, sighing and shaking his head, coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of the walkway, and thus forcing Stiles to stop too as consequence

"I feel like I set the bar so high last year... we had all of our firsts in one year and I don't know how to get better, how do I keep surprising him? How do I keep impressing him? I blew everything I had so quickly and now I feel like... I don't know how to grow and get better from this,"

Stiles was quiet for a moment, a look of concern on his face as he stepped forward

He didn't make a habbit out of touching strangers- atleast, not unless he had to- but ...

He wrapped an arm gently around the older man, the urge to comfort and console him outweighing the awkwardness of barely knowing eachother

And really, that sort of made Stiles understand why Viktor was so willing to do whatever it took to make Yuri feel better, if even he- a stranger- couldn't help but dissolve and go out of his way so that the guy wouldn't look like a kicked puppy anymore, he could only imagine how agonizing it must be to see him this way as someone who loves Yuri...

"Ok, listen, I don't know what your relationship is like, but... you do NOT need to impress him,"

Yuri jerked his head up, opening his mouth to protest, only for Stiles to interrupt him

"No, listen, unbiased third party here remember? I knew YOUR name before I knew his, the entire conversation we had was just 'Yuri this' and 'Yuri that' and every single word was said with that disgustingly lovey dovey heart-eyes thing going on, he is SO lost on you, I don't know how you're not painfully aware of it but he would bend over backwards and break his own neck probably just to see you smile, he'd probably drive all the way to the next continent to get you a cup of coffee if you asked for it, he loves you SO much Yuri, you're all he can think about, and you don't need to IMPRESS him, ok?"

"But-"

"Your relationship isn't a competition, you should always be raising the bar when you skate but not when you're... you know... married? Marriage isn't about raising the bar, it's about settling on the same level with eachother, it's about saying 'Ok we did the crazy ~getting to know eachother, wanna make a good impression~ phase and now it's time to cool down and just ... enjoy eachother for who are', that's what marriage is, and you don't need to be 'raising the bar' or meeting any kind of expectations, especially over a gift, I cannot put into words how much Viktor does NOT care ok? He'd probably be happier than a clam if you spent his birthday doing nothing but cuddling in bed and just ... existing with him, he loves you- YOU, not whatever ... expectations you think you have to meet, trust me, if that was the case, I would know, and I'm telling you, from how he talked about you... you can do no wrong ok? If you killed somebody, he would not only help you hide the body, he'd probably compliment you on how smooth the bullet wound looked, THAT is love,"

That... did sound like Viktor embarrassingly enough...

He wouldn't care about the dead body nearly so much as he'd care about Yuri's techniques in killing the poor soul to begin with....

"What should I do? I ... I want to still impress him, even if I don't _have_ to, I WANT to,"

Stiles bit his lip, thinking about that for a moment as he pulled away

"You want to impress him... but that doesn't mean you have to make something bigger and bolder, get him something small- simple, and on his birthday, make his favorite food, then just BE with him, do what I said, tell him you want to spend the day in bed with him, do whatever you two like doing, watch movies, talk, have sex, just ... whatever milks the time you have with him the most, that's going to make him so much happier than any gift Yuri, I know I don't really know him, but I know what the kind of love he has for you, it's the same kind that I have for Derek, and if I was in Viktor's place, that's exactly what I would want,"

Yuri gave a shy smile, looking down and trying to hide the redness of his face

"If... you really think so..."

"I KNOW so," Stiles corrected, patting him gently on the back and nudging for him to follow

"AND I have the perfect idea for you, c'mon, the sooner we get this over with the less likely Viktor and Derek are going to end up lost and confused in here,"

Derek may have grown up in Beacon Hills sure, but it by no means meant he knew his way around a mall....

~+~

"They're just SO. CUTE!" Viktor cooed, giggling as Derek let the twins share his ice cream

Their waking up hadn't been nearly the screaming ordeal he thought it would be, thankfully, but he credited that mostly to the fact that they had started stirring right after he and Viktor left the ice cream kiosk and Derek had been giving them little spoonfulls ever since

"Thank you," the wolf smiled fondly, always one to flourish when it came to his children

"What are their names? I don't recall that I've asked yet,"

"Kara and Rowena," Derek replied, taking a bite of ice cream and snorting when Rowena squeaked in distaste at him, apparently under the impression that only she and her sister were allowed to have that ice cream

Typical

"And pretty names too!! Ohh you're so LUCKY, I'd love to have children, I can't wait to be a father,"

"Really? Have you and Yuri talked about it at all?"

"Well... yes, to a degree," the skater noted, leaning back on the couch in the lobby and taking a long lick of his ice cream cone

"We're in agreement that we want them, and we want them when we're still young enough, but... we haven't quite talked about when yet, Yuri ended up deciding to compete for another season but that ends as of next week, we haven't talked about what we're going to do after that,"

Wich was probably a bad thing really, after all, that was how they had ended up misunderstanding and fighting last year...

"It isn't a decision to make lightly," Derek mused, giving in and reluctantly giving the twins another spoonfull of ice cream upon glancing down at Kara's puppy face

They were going to get the majority of his food, he just knew it....

They hadn't even started solids yet and already they were hooked on ice cream....

"I know, that's why we're hesitant, I mean, I'M not, but Yuri.... how did you get Stiles to cope with his anxiety when it came to having the little ones? Yuri is hesitant, I believe, because I don't think he thinks he can do it, but that's his fears towards everything truthfully,"

"Stiles never had that much anxiety towards having kids, actually, he was always ... surprisingly natural with it, he had anxiety but it didn't stop him from wanting to pursue this, I think... I think he feels like this is where he's meant to be, do you know how Yuri feels about that?"

Viktor's eyes narrowed, pressing his lips into a thin line as he stared down at the floor

"No, I don't... I know that we both belong on the ice, but we cannot compete forever, or even much longer, I'm turning twenty-nine next week, I would be pushing it to compete at this age, Yuri was going to retire last season but decided to go for one more year, once you hit twenty-five competing becomes a risky business, you can never be sure how much longer you'll last, we won't leave the ice ofcourse but... the competitions.... they can only continue for so long,"

"Ask him then," Derek said casually, setting his cup of ice cream down on the table in front of him and opening his wallet

"When the time feels right to you, just ask how much he wants it, ask him where he feels his life's calling is, just... talk about it, things will be easiest that way, it'll be alright," he promised, handing Viktor a business card and offering him a sincere smile

"When the time does come, call this place, tell them the Hales sent you and to give me a call, believe me, this will be a good choice,"

Viktor gave him a soft smile, throwing himself forward and giving the wolf a tight, quick, hug

"Thank you Derek, that's very kind of you, I appreciate your help, truly,"

"Don't mention it," Derek shrugged back easily, offering Viktor a light smile back

"For now, let's just hope our husbands come back in one peice,"

"Hm? Why do you say that?"

"Well your theory about them being able to monitor eachother's anxieties is a good one... but it might end up being the opposite, they might play into eachother's anxieties instead,"

Viktor was quiet for a long moment, frowning as he took a big bite out of his cone and fished his phone out of his pocket

"I'd better call Yuri..."

~+~

"You really think he'll like it?"

"I think he'll love it," Stiles smiled back

He was glad that Yuri had found something good for Viktor- and Stiles really did believe it was a good gift, he thought Yuri's husband would love it for sure

"Good, then that means that we can concentrate on you now, I don't guess you have any ideas for Derek?"

Stiles heaved a sigh, shaking his head and leaning up against the nearest wall, he was completely blank on ideas and helping Yuri find what he needed hadn't helped him as much as he had hoped

It hadn't helped at all to be honest....

Yuri opened his mouth to say something but was promptly interrupted by his phone going off, startling him as he scrambled to answer it

"H-Hello? Viktor? Wah- ... no no! Everything is ok really!"

Stiles couldn't help smirking, it was more than a little cute how protective these two were of eachother, he had to admit

"No no I promise, everything is fine, in fact I found something for you so- ... what? No I have to help Stiles first, what are you talking about?"

Stiles ran his fingers through his hair, eyes screwing shut as he listened to the conversation, wich pretty much consisted of Yuri trying to assure Viktor that all was well...

Up until the end ....

 _"Vitya,"_ the skater said, wich sparked Stiles' attention and had him slowly glancing over at the other man

That was the only word Stiles could distinguish sadly, the rest was undeniably in Russian and Stiles couldn't make out a single word...

But Yuri sure looked proud of himself when he hung up

"That should take care of that, now what were you saying before?" he asked with his usual sweet demeanor

"I don't know what you just said," Stiles said slowly

"But even I'm a little bit turned on by it,"

Yuri just gave a shy smile back to him as he put his phone back in his pocket

"Seriously, what is WITH you ice skaters and all of the sex appeal? Good God... no wonder Derek has a thing for watching skating..."

Yuri paused suddenly, an excited, beaming look coming across his face as realization slammed into him

"That's it!!!"

"What's it?" Stiles asked in confusion, puzzled by his sudden outburst

"I know EXACTLY what you can give to Derek,"

~+~

"Viktor? ... You ok...?"

Viktor very slowly put his phone down, face completely red and looking more than a little stunned

"Viktor....?" Derek tried again

 _"Eros,"_ the skater breathed

Derek had no idea what that meant, but he was a little more than concerned at this point...

~+~

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Stiles asked skeptically, staring at Yuri with anxiety clearly thrumming through his body

"Believe me, if Viktor likes my gift, Derek will utterly adore your's,"

Stiles still wasn't sure, but he atleast WANTED to trust Yuri, Yuri trusted his opinion after all, and he did seem much more insightfull than his shyness and nervousness would want to imply

"I guess," Stiles relented quietly, glancing up and smiling when he caught sight of their husbands, finally just a yard or two away now

"YURI!!!" Viktor screamed, flinging himself off of the couch and giving the other skater a running-jump of a hug

"Oh I missed you!! I feel like you were gone all evening!"

"Viktor it wasn't even a full hour..." Yuri grinned fondly

Stiles couldn't help snorting with affection, heading over to Derek and wrapping the wolf in a tight, warm hug of his own before giving him a soft kiss

"Mission accomplished?" he asked hopefully

Stiles nodded slowly, eyes light and gentle as he pulled back

"I think it is, yeah,"

"Thank goodness," Derek sighed, standing up and stretching out his back as he put one hand on the stroller, glad the babies were back to sleep, and wrapped the other around Stiles' waist

"Yuri!" Stiles called, grabbing the other's attention with ease

"Thanks, we'll see you guys later," he added, giving him a quick wave

"Yeah, we'll see you!" he smiled back

Derek stared at him in confusion, what an odd exchange... what were the chances they'd ever see Viktor and Yuri again...?

"It was nice meeting you both," Derek added, waving as well and pulling Viktor's attention away for the moment

"Right back at you! Do svidaniya!"

The moment Stiles and Derek were out of earshot, Viktor turned back to his husband, eyebrows raised curiously

"Yuri, why did you say we'd see them again? We most likely won't you know,"

"Oh no .... we definitely will," Yuri smirked back

"Hm? You devious minx! What have you done?" Viktor asked with an excited grin

"Well... I MAY have given Stiles tickets and back passes to the World Finals next week for Derek's Christmas gift... and managed some connections to get skating lessons for them at a local rink,"

Viktor gasped, eyes sparkling as he place his hands against his face

"Oh!! Yuri! He's going to LOVE that!"

"I thought as much, I promised I'd drop off the tickets and information for him tommorrow, if that's ok?"

"Ofcourse it's ok! C'mon, let's go back to the hotel so we can make sure we have all of that on hand for the morning, besides, there's... something else I wanted to talk to you about," Viktor said with a gentle smile, wrapping both of his arms around Yuri's and leaning into him as they started their walk to exit the mall

~+~

"I feel more than a little compelled to ask... what did Yuri buy?" Derek ended up asking once they were close to the car

"A music box with an ice skater on it... that happens to play 'Once Upon A December' from Anastasia,"

Derek paused, eyebrows raising with concern

"You encouraged Yuri to buy him something from a movie that's probably a really offensive Russian stereotype?"

Granted, Derek didn't KNOW if it was offensive, but it seemed like the sort of thing that probably would be

"It's not about the movie, it's about the song, they met in December, then they got engaged last December, December is an important month for them,"

Even more so if Viktor asked Yuri about those kids anytime soon, Derek mused...

"Plus it's just a really pretty song and Yuri said that Viktor is really into ridiculous things like that, and it's great dance music, he fell in love with it and picked it out man, not me, all I suggested was the music box,"

Well, if it was Yuri who had picked it out, Derek supposed he probably knew best....

"I'm just glad you're satisfied, anything that can help you keep your anxiety down,"

He paused, twins half-way in their car seats as he turned to look at the other over his shoulder

"You... ARE satisfied aren't you? No more second guessing and doubting...?"

"No," Stiles mused, a soft look gracing his features as he wrapped an arm around Derek's back, kissing his cheek adoringly

"I think it's finally all figured out,"

**Author's Note:**

> Headcanons and other notes that are worth mentioning:
> 
> -I actually didn't find out until I was almost done with the fic that Russia celebrates Christmas on January 7th, but I think canon confirms that Viktor's birthday is the 25th? Either way, I decided to include the clip about Russian Christmas in there *just* in case I'm wrong
> 
> -Yuri calling Viktor "Vitya" as a form of affection/petname is the headcanon that I will fight armies for because it's honestly the cutest thing I can think of in the entire world and you can't tell me Viktor doesn't swoon over it
> 
> -I also headcanon that Viktor and Yuri, despite being the ultimate sugar plums and the most affectionate people known to man, 10000% would slay someone with the "If you hurt my husband I will hurt you" threats, I think it's especially obvious for Viktor because Yuri is more openly vulnerable but if the situation ever called for it I can absolutely see Yuri dishing out a threat so sharp it could cut someone in order to protect his Vitya- much to the surprise of everyone who has ever known him
> 
> -I don't know why, but I see Derek as someone who really likes elegant sports like figure skating, ballroom dancing, ballet, etc, I mean he'll watch football and stuff if he's with someone else who wants to watch it but it isn't what he prefers, baseball being the exception, other than that he prefers beautifull things like figure skating and I bet he and Laura used to watch it all the time in New York, wich is why he bothered following the careers of some of their (read: her) favorite skaters, at the time Viktor was Laura's favorite so Derek naturally kept up with him here and there, when he started seeing Yuri in competitions he realized pretty quickly that Yuri would have 100% been Laura's new favorite because she loved underdogs so he decided to keep up with Yuri too out of something of a homage to her, when he first saw that they were a couple he almost laughed because that would have been the sort of thing to make Laura's entire YEAR
> 
> -The reason Stiles gave Yuri a long speech about Viktor and Yuri didn't give Stiles one about Derek is two fold:
> 
> 1\. Derek is a quieter person than Viktor by nature, he prefers to show his affection rather than tell it, so wile Viktor probably pulls people aside and starts singing the ballad of how awesome Yuri is, Derek prefers to be more private and SHOW his affections, so where Stiles heard quite a bit of Viktor praising Yuri, Yuri just didn't hear the same thing from Derek
> 
> 2\. From a narrative standpoint, Yuri needs that kind of reassurance, Stiles doesn't, their anxiety issues may be very, very similar but they aren't quite the same, largely coming down to how they respond to it, Yuri collapses in on himself and breaks down in tears, Stiles explodes outwardly and lashes out with anger, and that alone is a big indicator on how different they are, plus, it's shown multiple times in both canons respectively that Yuri needs to BELIEVE and Stiles needs to ACT, Yuri has all of the skills he needs to win competitions, he has a fiance' he loves him more than anything I've ever seen in my life, a family and freinds who support him, etc etc, but his crippling anxiety blinds him to that, and he doesn't see it, the only way he can ACT on what he has (win a competition, kiss Viktor, etc) is if he believes in himself, wich he largely... doesn't... he needs people constantly *telling* him and reassuring him to boost his confidence and help him do what he needs to do, Stiles is almost the opposite, although he too tends to be blind to his talents and to how much he's loved and cared about, when he's faced with a problem, he doesn't really need verbal reassurances that he can do something, he needs to be allowed to jump in head first and just DO it and prove to himself that he can, the verbal reassurances he DOES need are on a different scale from Yuri's (but that's another story) and unlike Yuri, Stiles really never questions if Derek would leave him over something so trivial or feels like he needs to impress Derek to keep him interested, he just feels inadequate in being unable to be MORE, to DO more, he and Yuri are both perfectionists but in this particular instance, for Yuri, it's more about impressing Viktor, whereas for Stiles it's more about just feeding his perfectionism, so Stiles didn't really need a pep talk about Derek loving him because he *knows*, and he knows Derek well enough to know he really doesn't care about material things at ALL, his only hang-up was frustration at himself for not coming up with the *perfect* thing (wich is why, unlike Yuri, he questions the gift, Yuri is satisfied because he doesn't feel worried about Viktor, but Stiles' perfectionism is never really going to get satisfied because that isn't how it works)


End file.
